In this study, the effects of common wastewater stimulants, namely NH4Cl and KH2PO4, on the development and performance of metalworking fluid biofilm bioreactors are presented. It is shown that biofilms flourished only when one of these components was present in limiting quantities. Biofilm yields significantly declined when both of the components were withheld from the bioreactors or when both components were provided in excess. Stimulations to the reactors using NH4Cl significantly reduced the total carbon removal performance, while stimulations using KH2PO4 resulted in significant increases in performance. Chromatographic analyses showed that the NH4Cl stimulation enhanced the removal of saturated fatty amides and diethylene glycol butyl ether from the metalworking fluid, but inhibited the removal of diisoproponolamine. Furthermore, NH4Cl additions inhibited the oil/water separation carbon removal mechanism and resulted in the re-dispersion of recalcitrant organic material. The results from this study show that metalworking fluid practitioners should take care in choosing the nutrients used for stimulating bioreactor performance and microbe development. Incorrect stimulations with NH4Cl may result in negative treatment performances due to the inhibition of amine utilisation and enhancing emulsion stability.

An evaluation was made of the performance of a commercial industrial-scale ultrafiltration (UF)-based process for treatment of highly concentrated oily wastewaters. Wastewater samples were gathered from two plants treating industrial wastewaters in 2008, and in 2011 (only from one of the plants), from three points of a UF-based treatment train. The wastewater samples were analyzed by measuring the BOD7, COD, TOC and total surface charge (TSC). The inorganic content and zeta potentials of the samples were analyzed and GC-FID/MS analyses were performed. The removal performances of BOD7, COD, TOC and TSC in 2008 and 2011 for both plants were very high. Initial concentrations of contaminants in 2011 were lower than in 2008, therefore the COD and TSC reductions were also lower in 2011 than three years before. Regardless of the high performance of UF-based processes in both plants, at times the residual concentrations were considerable. This could be explained by the high initial concentrations and also by the presence of the dissolved compounds that were characterized. Linear correlation was observed between COD and TOC, and between COD and TSC. The correlation between COD and TSC could be utilized for process control purposes.

Our research focuses on the use of nanoparticles in cancer for therapy, imaging or drug delivery. The small size of nanoparticles means that they can passively accumulate in tumours due to the enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect. The EPR effect is the property by which certain sizes of molecules accumulate more in tumour tissues than in normal tissues. This occurs because newly formed tumour blood vessels are abnormal in form and architecture, and have poorly‐aligned endothelial cells with wide fenestrations through which the molecules can pass. Furthermore, tumour tissues lack efficient lymphatic drainage.